Back in the mid-'90s, the Cincinnati
Bengals threatened to leave town unless they got a new
football-only stadium.

So Hamilton (where Cincy is the county seat) caved. They agreed
to build Paul
Brown Stadium and to finance almost entire thing.

The Journal claims it was the most lopsided of any
NFL public
stadium financing deal – a problem compounded by the fact that
Hamilton paid for it without the help of the state or any of the
surround counties.

Now, more than 10 years after it opened, stadium costs
make up 16.4% of the county budget, with almost no
benefit to the surrounding area's economy. (Attendance is
actually lower than it was in the old stadium.)

Hamilton County faces a $30 million budget shortfall and has had
to cancel a planned property tax rollback in order to service
their debt.

Also, the Bengals stink. They've had two winning seasons since
moving into Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

Yet, the fear of losing a sports team (and the votes of sports
fans) have caused local officials to blink time and time again.
Look no further than Minnesota, where some politicians are
bending over backward to save the Vikings, while the state
government completely shuts down over a lack of money.

One official calls Paul Brown Stadium "the monster that ate the
public sector." If only it were the only one.